


we were just kids when we fell in love

by HuiLian



Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Background Dinah Lance, F/M, It doesn't exist, background Bruce Wayne, background Jim Gordon, the two of them are so cute together, what is canon?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 09:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13678512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuiLian/pseuds/HuiLian
Summary: Dick couldn’t take his eyes off her. Strands of her hair that escaped her ponytail framed her face. That face was currently red and sweaty with exertion. Her clothes were bunched up awkwardly in places and loose in others. She was breathing heavily as a result of the sparring session. Others would call her a mess right now. Her hair was all over the place, her face was not polished with makeup and her clothes was not worn to be flattering. (Of course not, she was sparring, not modeling.)Not Dick. To him, she was perfect.





	we were just kids when we fell in love

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine’s day! Let’s celebrate with a little dickbabs fic shall we? Inspired by the song Perfect by Ed Sheeran, title from the same song. (If you haven’t listened to it, go hear it now. It’s perfect.)
> 
> I basically mix and match canon that I liked, and completely disregard canon that I don’t like. The proposal and wedding scene was taken from Nightwing/Oracle Convergence. I may have stolen some lines.

**Perfect**

Dick remembered his first meeting with Barbara. He had been walking through the halls of Gotham Academy, feeling out of place in the shiny halls. He was used to battered trailers and circus tents, not the polished environment of Gotham Academy.

Then she came. She took his hand, and pulled him away from where he was going, which was the cafeteria.

"Just walk with me," she whispered in his ear. "I'll explain later."

Dick didn't know what to do, so he followed her. After they had walked the entire length of the hallway, she took a turn left. Dick kept following her. When they had reached an appropriate distance from the turn, she let go of his hand.

"Sorry about that." She shrugged. "There was a bunch of jackasses waiting for you in the cafeteria. They were going to drop their lunches on you."

Dick could only gape at her.

"Oh, sorry," she rubbed the back of her neck, "I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Barbara Gordon, nice to meet you." She put out her hand to shake.

Dick looked to her hand, and then to her face. She smiled. Dick looked back to her hand. He took her hand, shook it, and immediately pulled it back. He didn't exactly have a stellar record in making friends inside these halls. The fact that there were people waiting inside the cafeteria to dump their lunches on him just cemented that.

"Dick Grayson," he said.

"Dick? Are you sure you want to keep that name?"

Dick felt a surge of protectiveness inside his chest. "Yeah." Everyone in this school could insult him, but they would not insult the name his parents gave him. "What about it?"

"Nothing. But most of the kids here would give you hell over that kind of name. Not to mention you're not exactly one of them."

"So what?" Dick stood up straighter. He was Robin. He could do this.

"Hey," Barbara said, "it's okay. I know what it feels to be an outsider. Just giving you a heads up."

"Oh."

They stood in silence for a while, each one deciding what they were going to do next.

Barbara broke the silence first. "So, if you're an outsider, named Dick, and I'm the charity case know it all; friends?"

Dick thought about it for a moment. It would be nice to have a friend in the midst of all of this strange things. He nodded.

Barbara smiled a blinding smile. Dick found himself smiling with her.

***

"Did I ever thank you for saving me from an avalanche of school lunches?"

"Not that I recall."

"And you have a perfect memory. All right. Thanks for saving my ass from those jackasses, Babs."

"You're welcome."

***

Robin met Barbara Gordon on a rooftop; with Batman by his side and Captain Gordon by hers. Dick Grayson had been friends with Barbara Gordon for several weeks, now, but Robin had just met Barbara Gordon for the first time. He must not be too familiar.

Barbara was exactly as she was on school. Her fire-red hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her stance was sturdy enough that Robin would not be able to easily tackle her. Her face was set in an unimpressed expression.

Batman told Robin to keep Barbara company while he was talking to Captain Gordon. Barbara gave Batman the stinky eye all the time he was talking. She couldn't do anything, though, as Captain Gordon also nudged her towards Robin.

Robin grinned at her. She did not smile back.

"Hey. I know this sucks. But we can make the most of it," Robin dramatically whispered to Barbara.

"Like what? Doing play dates while the grown-ups talk?"

"No." Robin smiled slowly. "By eavesdropping on them."

That caught Barbara's attention. There were sparks of mischief in her eyes. "Oh, I like you."

Robin liked her too.

***

"I think that Dad regrets letting us meet."

"Oh yeah? And why is that?'

"You are a terrible influence for me."

"And you're not?"

***

Robin and Batgirl were playing tag. Not just any tag. It was rooftop tag. Only the two of them knew how to play it in the whole world. Batman could, but he didn't want to, so it was only the two of them.

Somehow, Robin was grateful for that. The fact that only the two of them knew this was exhilarating to him. He wondered why.

Thump. Robin could hear Batgirl's landing on the rooftop behind his. He would have to speed up.

He fired his grapple gun and aimed it towards the next building. Then he ran, and jumped. He did not land on that building though. He landed on the next one, and then crouched and rolled to let the momentum out. Robin was fairly sure Batgirl would not be able to copy that. Fairly sure.

Dick should have known better that to underestimate Barbara. She did not have the same acrobatic prowess as he does, but she was smarter than him. Way smarter than him. While he was jumping across buildings, she was calculating the best way to intercept him.

She tagged him after four buildings.

"Tag!"

Robin felt a fleeting touch on his shoulder. He turned around to tag her back, but she was already running out of reach.

"Hey!"

"Catch me if you can, Boy Wonder!"

They spent the night like that, jumping around rooftops, shouting insults and teasing each other. The two of them could keep up with each another the way no one else could.

By the end of the night, they sat on a rooftop watching the sunrise. Robin did not know whether the flutter of his heart and the shortness of his breath was caused by a night of playing tag or by something else. Something related to the fact that Barbara's head was resting on his shoulders and that their hands were linked together.

***

"I missed that, you know."

"What?"

"Playing rooftop tag."

***

Barbara was fast. Dick wished he could say he was faster, but he was really not. They were sparring down in the Batcave, and she was winning. Dick wasn't even letting her.

A jab to his lower abdomen. He dodged that. Only to meet a backhand punch that hit his stomach.

He retreated for a moment to catch his breath, then retaliated the attack with a kick to her knee. It hit.

Barbara fell down. But before Dick could do anything to take advantage of that, she took him down with her.

Then it was flat out wrestling.

Barbara came out the winner, pining Dick's hands above his head and straddling his legs. She knew better than to give his legs freedom if she wanted to win.

She smirked. "I won, Boy Wonder."

Dick couldn't take his eyes off her. Strands of her hair that escaped her ponytail framed her face. That face was currently red and sweaty with exertion. Her clothes were bunched up awkwardly in places and loose in others. She was breathing heavily as a result of the sparring session. Others would call her a mess right now. Her hair was all over the place, her face was not polished with makeup and her clothes was not worn to be flattering. (Of course not, she was sparring, not modeling.)

Not Dick. To him, she was perfect.

***

"Wanna spar?"

"Sure. I'll beat you this time though."

"You can try."

***

She called herself Oracle now. She built a new life on wheelchairs, she found a new way to help people, and she called herself Oracle.

Dick didn't know how she did it.

If it was him, he would have broke months ago. If it was him, he wouldn't just pick up the pieces and make a new life out of it. But she did. She did and Dick love her all the more for it.

Oracle was the backbone of the superhero community. Oracle was the one you call when you need intel, or if you need tech help. Oracle was the one whom everyone in the hero community know.

Barbara watched her life get torn to pieces by the same man that had killed thousands (killed _Jason_ ), and said no thank you, you did not control my life.

Dick thought she was stronger than him, stronger than Batman, stronger than _Superman_ , even, for that. She was stronger than anyone he knew, and that's saying a lot, because he knew people who can lift cars easily and people who can keep a train from crashing with their bare hands.

***

_Hel-lo. I am O-RA-CLE. Is any-one pres-ent?_

***

It was morning already. Dick had almost wished that the night would never end, it was that magical, but morning came. Barbara was as beautiful in the morning light as she was in the nighttime. That made Dick blurt out a question.

"Did you ever think about having children?"

Barbara turned to look at him. Dick wanted to take his words back, but he also wanted to know.

"Not really, why?"

Why? Dick wanted to tell her that he wanted to have kids. Not just with anyone, but with her. Dick wanted to tell her that he wanted to start a family with her. He settled with, "You would have been a great mom, that's all."

Barbara looked at him, considering his words. It was long enough that Dick considered bailing from the Tower before she smiled. "You would have been a great dad yourself."

That sentence made Dick's heart soar. He couldn't help picturing a small girl, with Barbara's sharp eyes and his black hair. Or a little boy, with tanned skin and red hair.

"Thanks, Babs."

He knew he was thinking too far, that neither him nor Babs was ready for children. But a man can hope, can't he?

***

"John Grayson! Come back here!"

"Well, this was not what I thought of when I said you would be a great mom."

" _You_ deal with him, then."

***

By all odds, his relationship with Barbara shouldn't have lasted. They were both vigilantes with a truckload of issues. They have known each other for so long that they have volumes of history between them. And when they fight, they struck hard, and they struck deep. Between him being Batman and Barbara being Oracle, neither of them should have the time or energy to continue this relationship. By all means, this relationship shouldn't have lasted.

But here they were.

"So, what's the latest developments with those drug dealers down in 30th street?" Dick took a spoonful of his cereal.

"They were going to make a move at either the day after tomorrow, or three days from now." Barbara smacked his hand. "Stop stealing my breakfast, you have your own."

Dick pouted.

"Oh, stop it." Barbara rolled her eyes. "By the way, you need to be back at the Penthouse in a few minutes, Damian called your cell last night."

"What? What's wrong?"

Barbara shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. You'll have to ask him."

Dick gave a big sigh. Barbara looked at him from above her glasses. "Don't complain. You're the one who took him in," she said.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Oh, don't forget the serial burglary on Downtown. You know Selina doesn't take well to another thief in her area."

"I know, I'm not an amateur."

Dick put his bowl on the sink, then walked towards the table again. He kissed Barbara on the forehead as farewell. "See you tonight, Babs!"

***

"Do you have eyes on the front door, Oracle?"

"Yes. Three men, armed."

"All right. Dinner after this?"

"Dinner time was three hours ago, Batman."

***

Dick proposed to her in a restaurant, after Gotham had been sieged. He thought she was radiant then, dressed in a green blouse with just a hint of makeup on her face. He proposed to Barbara Gordon as Dick Grayson, and she said no.

Dick didn't have time to process that before two Thanagarians flew into the city and threatened Gotham.  He was fighting to keep them from remaking Gotham in their image. It was bigger than him, but somehow, his heart was not in it.

Dick thought Barbara was radiant in that restaurant, wearing a green blouse. He was wrong. Well, not wrong exactly, she was radiant, but here, wearing a leather jacket over a tac suit, she was magnificent. She had saved the entirety of Gotham. She would be magnificent regardless.

"Dick, about the proposal," she started to say, "I was scared."

No, Dick would not think about this. She had said no to him, and he had respected her wishes, if not truly accepted it.

"I know. You live for perfection, Babs. Whatever this would is, perfect it most definitely is not."

"It's scary how you get me, sometimes. That's the thing, though. It's never going to be perfect. It's always going to be just us making the best of what we're given."

Dick couldn't believe his ears. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"I was wondering if you might ask again." She meant it. She meant it. "After you kiss me."

Barbara smiled at him. Dick couldn't help but smile back. God, he was smitten with this girl.

"You sure? I don't look my best, and my entire face is banged sideways." Dick aimed for teasing, but he was also really asking for clarification.

"Yeah?" Barbara put her arms around his neck. "I can make the sacrifice."

***

"Thanks for the help, Black Canary."

"You know your coms was on, right?"

" _Thanks_ for the help, Black Canary."

"Oh. All right, I'll go. Have fun, you two."

***

There was an earthquake the day of the ceremony. An earthquake, of all things. Well, at the very least, it was not an Arkham breakout.

Barbara was almost angelic with her white dress. When Dick saw her, he wanted to back out. Barbara deserved better than him. Barbara deserved the whole world. Thank god Roy was there. If not, Dick would have chickened out.

Aside from that one change of heart, and the earthquake, of course, the ceremony went on flawlessly. Gotham was save, the world was save. Dick could marry Barbara in peace.

He was once Robin. Then he was Nightwing. He even became Batman, for a few years. Barbara had been Batgirl, and now she was Oracle. The two of them had know each other through the highs and lows of their respective lives. Dick had loved Barbara before he even knew what love meant. And now, Dick had the chance to love her for the rest of his life.

***

"Well, Barbara."

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home."

***

**Author's Note:**

> check out my tumblr (huilian.tumblr.com)


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